Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Subscribe
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12.99
View
  • News
  • Guides
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • Deals
  • Magazines
    • About Us
    • Retro Gamer
    • Play
    • Total Film
    • Edge
    • SFX
Newsarama
Total Film
Edge
Trending
  • Starfield
  • Baldur's Gate 3
  • New games of 2023
  • Assassin's Creed Mirage

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Xbox One
  2. Action
  3. The Order: 1886

Raising your hand, rat battles, and 9 more preposterous QTEs

By Lucas Sullivan
published 18 March 2015

  • Comments
Press X to read this sentence

Press X to read this sentence

Like them or not, quick-time events do serve a purpose: they help bring a brief flash of hectic interaction to what would otherwise be a static, potentially yawn-inducing cinematic. But QTEs tend to rub a lot of people the wrong way, since they usually create a binary win-loss scenario of 'do exactly what the game tells you, or die'. You'll typically spot QTEs hiding out in heavily choreographed action scenes, since things like camera angles and pinpoint timing are too unpredictable to leave in the players' hands.

But sometimes, a QTE doesn't kick off an epic duel, or send your character leaping to safety right before a screen-shaking explosion. They've become so prevalent in games that we've reached a QTE saturation point, where even the most mundane, peculiar, or downright silly actions might be coupled with a frantic button mashing or finger-cramping twiddling of the analog sticks. So, which QTEs have to power to obliterate your immersion or boggle your mind with their ridiculousness? Press your right arrow key in the next five seconds to find out, or risk being stuck on this intro slide forever.

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
Putting your hands up (The Order: 1886)

Putting your hands up (The Order: 1886)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

It's official: slowly raising your hands (not even above your head, mind you) requires more effort in The Order: 1886 than it does in real life. Admittedly, this is meant to be a tense moment, so Galahad immediately throwing his hands up in surrender would kind of ruin the suspense. But you might be too distracted to appreciate the subtle facial expressions and threatening tone of the scene when you're hammering away at the Triangle button to make a virtual man move his arms a few inches.

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
Rat battle (Battlefield 3)

Rat battle (Battlefield 3)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

The only thing more intense than a crab battle is a rat battle. Battlefield 3 knows this, so to spice things up during a stealth mission, you're accosted by a pre-mutation Master Splinter mid-sewer crawl. What first appears to be a simple rodent turns out to be a terrorist operative, flushing out any soldier wimpy enough to writhe in agony when bitten on a hand that's encased in military-grade leather. Giving the middle finger to an animal that doesn't comprehend what I'm doing isn't how I'd choose to spend my last moment alive, but this soldier is willing to make that sacrifice for the good of the universe's strange sense of humor.

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
Victorious fist pump (Ace Combat: Assault Horizon)

Victorious fist pump (Ace Combat: Assault Horizon)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

You've just saved thousands of innocent lives by shooting down a missile headed straight for the White House. And there's only one proper way to celebrate such a heroic mission accomplished: a gloriously campy QTE. There's a certain kitschy charm to this triumphant, button-prompt-induced pose, in that Top Gun, I-can't-believe-how-cheesy-this-is-but-I-kinda-like-it way. And yes, it's made infinitely better when paired with a particular piece of licensed music.

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
Victorious fist bump (Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor)

Victorious fist bump (Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

I know we're here to talk about a lackluster Kinect game, but let me digress for a second. In Telltale's The Walking Dead, something as simple as giving Duck a high-five becomes a great character building moment, as you bring the slightest glimmer of happiness to a desolate wasteland. In Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, giving your cockpit comrade a poorly motion-detected fist bump feels decidedly less meaningful, besides providing a brief respite from awkwardly waving your hands in the air like a fidgety mime-in-training.

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
Simon Says street basketball (Indigo Prophecy)

Simon Says street basketball (Indigo Prophecy)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

For all their fancy sweat effects, lifelike crowds, and scanned-in player faces, modern NBA games are getting the fundamentals flat-out wrong. You can't try to conform the athleticism of b-ball to a controller's analog sticks; that's just nonsensical. Everybody knows that being able to slam-jam means having a deep understanding of pressing four brightly colored buttons in time with your opponent. I'm willing to bet good money that before Michael Jordan ever set foot on the blacktop, he was honing his legendary skills with Milton Bradley's Simon.

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
Hugging a Renaissance Man (Assassin's Creed 2)

Hugging a Renaissance Man (Assassin's Creed 2)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

Whether or not you have the instantaneous reaction speeds needed to succeed at this QTE (in a game that rarely uses them) has no impact on Ezio's tale of honorable retribution. But some players are utterly devastated at the thought of leaving Leonardo da Vinci hanging when he initiates a bro-hug. And in extreme cases, it's been known to warrant a full second playthrough just to rectify this moment of inadvertent, tragically auto-saved snubbing. That jilted look on Leonardo's face when you stand motionless in front of his open arms is devastating.

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
Punching a boulder (Resident Evil 5)

Punching a boulder (Resident Evil 5)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

It seems like no matter where Leon Kennedy goes in Resident Evil 4, there's at least one massive boulder trying to squish him flat. So after an entire game's worth of fleeing from giant rocks like a terrified contestant on Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, being able to deliver some of Chris Redfield's mean right hooks to a giant rock feels downright therapeutic. I can't argue that Redfield's repeated kidney punches to unfeeling stone do produce favorable results, but his fists must be the consistency of unrefrigerated Jell-O by now.

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
Move to stay still (Jurassic Park)

Move to stay still (Jurassic Park)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

Telltale's cartoony take on Jurassic Park sticks to the film's logic that a tyrannosaurus rex can't see you if you're motionless (despite the fact that this bit of advice is completely wrong). So when a QTE asks you to stay completely still at the feet of this imposing predator, a mini-game of fiddling with the analog stick feels just a tad disconnected from the life-threatening situation at hand. Remember, kids: when your parents bark at you to sit still, what they actually want you to do is fidget in place ever so slightly for a few seconds, just like Nima here. Also, this all happens moments before you flee the dino at a full sprint, so I guess staying still wasn't the best option after all.

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
Paying respects (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)

Paying respects (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

I'm 100 percent positive that the grieving process takes longer than a three-second establishing shot showing that you've lost your left arm. At least you're able to feel a wee bit more emotion than Jonathan Irons (aka Frank Underwood, aka Kevin Spacey), who seemingly forgets all about his son's untimely death by the time he's walked to his car. Honestly, it's a bit hard to blame him, seeing as we only knew Will Irons for a single tutorial mission before he was written out of the story for (attempted) emotional impact.

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
Eatin' pancakes (Saints Row 4)

Eatin' pancakes (Saints Row 4)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

For a series that lets you bludgeon people with a giant penis-shaped bat, this QTE is surprisingly and delightfully wholesome. Instead of squeezing off rounds with that itchy right trigger finger, why not flex that digit to chow down on a stack of fluffy, buttery pancakes instead? I think that was one of the lines from the first draft of John Lennon's "Imagine". There's no fail state here, but I imagine that The Boss' fancy fork flip could've gone very, very wrong if it required a timely button press.

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
Avoid doing a concrete bellyflop (Spider-Man 3)

Avoid doing a concrete bellyflop (Spider-Man 3)

QUICK! Click here to watch it!!!

Wouldn't it be great if, just once, the Spider-Man films toyed with the kind of hilariously embarrassing slapstick on display in this QTE? All that money toward crafting state-of-the-art CGI, just to see Spidey slam into the ground with a sickening thud like someone doing a cannonball into an empty swimming pool. Hey, he's a superhero, he'll survive - and if anything, it'd gave that bug-eyed lady a hearty bellylaugh before they both perish in a fiery explosion.

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
You never know when the next QTE will strike

You never know when the next QTE will strike

Know of any other goofy, illogical, or ridiculously inane quick-time events? Well hurry - share 'em in the comments below! Just promise me that whatever you do, you won't call the leaf-catching scene in Shenmue 2 unnecessary, or you might succeed the QTE of bringing a tear to my eye.

And if you're looking for more, check out the Top 7... Incredible scenes that got cut from your favorite games and The new finishers Mortal Kombat X REALLY needs.

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
  • Comments
Lucas Sullivan
Lucas Sullivan
Social Links Navigation

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them. 

More about xbox one
Armored Core 6 Zimmerman shotguns

Armored Core 6 has hidden dialogue for its dirtiest boss kill and it's the funniest thing FromSoftware's written since Patches

Persona 3 Reload

Persona 3 Reload looks like it's improving the JRPG's villains and adding lots of story scenes, and I'm down

Latest
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth characters

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth reaffirms itself as my most-anticipated JRPG by keeping me guessing

See more latest ►
See comments
Most Popular
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - The sad story of Aquababy

By George MarstonSeptember 18, 2023

Princess Peach Showtime gives the beloved princess of the Mushroom Kingdom the spotlight she deserves

By Heather WaldSeptember 18, 2023

I got good at Baldur's Gate 3 by refusing to play it properly

By Jasmine Gould-WilsonSeptember 18, 2023

Ewan McGregor’s genre-bending new film will mess with your head

By Adam TanswellSeptember 18, 2023

I can't wait to turn Resident Evil 4 into Assassin's Creed in the upcoming Separate Ways DLC

By Jasmine Gould-WilsonSeptember 18, 2023

GTA 5's open world map was so ahead of its time that it's no surprise people are still flocking to it 10 years later

By Joe DonnellySeptember 17, 2023

I braved The Last of Us Haunted House at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

By Serena CherrySeptember 17, 2023

One tragic mistake in Baldur's Gate 3 stopped Karlach from joining me and it's haunted me ever since

By Heather WaldSeptember 16, 2023

Solo-ing this old-school GTA Online mission is the best way to make quick cash during this week's 4x RP and GTA$ event

By Joe DonnellySeptember 16, 2023

The weirdest Batman villains of all time

By George MarstonSeptember 15, 2023

One Piece creator talks Netflix's live-action series: "If I wasn't satisfied, this wouldn't see the light of day"

By Rollin BishopSeptember 15, 2023

Load Comments
Recommended
Mortal Kombat 1 review: "An exceptional, confident fighting game"
Starfield review: "The best thing Bethesda's done since Oblivion"
  1. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty screenshots
    1
    Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty review: "The culmination of CD Projekt Red's efforts"
  2. 2
    Party Animals review: "Delivers ample amounts of chaos and chuckles"
  3. 3
    Mortal Kombat 1 review: "An exceptional, confident fighting game"
  4. 4
    Combat Arena: Lair of the Beast review - "Full of clever flourishes"
  5. 5
    The Crew Motorfest review: "Better than Forza Horizon 5 in several ways"
  1. Cassandro
    1
    Cassandro review: "Should earn Gael García Bernal plenty of Oscar buzz"
  2. 2
    Poolman review: "Chris Pine’s directorial debut is a misfire that should sink without trace"
  3. 3
    Woman of the Hour review: "Anna Kendrick's assured directorial debut"
  4. 4
    Wildcat review: "Ethan and Maya Hawke's literary biopic is stronger on mood than momentum"
  5. 5
    Knox Goes Away review: "Michael Keaton's hitman noir misses the mark"
  1. The Continental
    1
    The Continental episode 1 review: "A slog with none of John Wick's glossy magic"
  2. 2
    Ahsoka episode 6 review: "Genuinely disturbing even if it prioritizes style over substance"
  3. 3
    Ahsoka episode 5 review: "Despite being overly steeped in nostalgia it's easily the best episode yet"
  4. 4
    The Morning Show season 3 review: "This uneven opening is rescued by a thrilling second episode"
  5. 5
    Ahsoka episode 4 review: "Finally gives us some of that Star Wars razzle dazzle"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.